The Life Story of Ukrainian Veteran Hero Lieutenant Vitaliy Mizin

YUSUF INAN - INTERVIEW

WISE NEWS PRESS / KYIV, UKRAINE — 

The Life Story of Ukrainian Veteran Hero Lieutenant Vitaliy Oleksandrovych Mizin

Ukraine is grateful to these heroes!

YUSUF INAN: Yulia Mizina, could we get acquainted? Could you please introduce yourself?

Yulia Mizina: My name is Yulia, I am almost 31 years old. I am a mother of two sons and the wife of a man of steel, Vitaliy. By profession, I am a psychologist!

YUSUF INAN: Tell us about your husband, Vitaliy Oleksandrovych Mizin.

Yulia Mizina: My husband is a lieutenant and a platoon commander of the artillery battery of the first self-propelled artillery division. Before the war, he made furniture and worked as a taxi driver for some time.

YUSUF INAN: What position did your husband hold in the Armed Forces of Ukraine?

Yulia Mizina: The most important duty in the Armed Forces of Ukraine was to teach his men in the battery and prepare them for military action! To organize their daily lives and arrange everything for going out to the combat position! But some time before that, a deadly missile, and not just one, flew into their barracks... Unfortunately, no one from his platoon survived... it is very painful and difficult! Every night, my husband closes his eyes and sees the horror that took place there... Almost a year has passed since that tragedy, but everything is still before his eyes, just like now: the cries of his soldiers, the fire that was burning him, the flashes...

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YUSUF INAN: When and how was he wounded?

Yulia Mizina: It all happened on 17.05.2022 at 3:00 AM. Everyone was resting and didn't even have time to react to the air raid siren...

My husband told me that something woke him up (like some kind of call), and in a second, he felt pebbles falling on him... And right then, he and the bed fell into the basement, and there he tried to get out of the sleeping bag, take off all his clothes, because he saw the fire!

He already understood that the fire would reach him. And it did... He tried to find a place in that pile of stones where there would be access to air—that saved him! He sat under a concrete slab that was resting on an iron bed and breathed the air that was coming in. But the fire crept closer and burned his entire body...

I honestly don't know how he could endure such pain when half of his body was burning. His right arm and leg were burned so badly that the doctors at the hospital where he was taken were afraid to move him to the bed because his bones could crumble... It's simply impossible... His head was burned down to the scalp... Several ribs were burned...

When my husband could no longer bear the pain, he asked the Lord for it all to end quickly...! And you won't believe it! At that moment, water poured down on him!

The rescuers began extinguishing the fire! And Vitaliy had hope that he would be saved! When they pulled him out of there, he was still able to say my phone number and my name. And that was it—he lost consciousness for 5 long days.

YUSUF INAN: Tell us about the treatment and rehabilitation process.

Yulia Mizina: When I heard this on the phone, I was at home alone with our boys! My eldest son was 7 years old then, and the youngest was only 2 months old. I stayed at home for two more days and called the hospital every hour.

The doctors answered with a sad voice that his condition was extremely critical, unstable. And when I called at the end of the second day and they said his condition had worsened even more, I became hysterical, screaming and crying throughout the house. I was so afraid that we would lose him. And that evening, my mother and I decided to go to the capital of Ukraine, Kyiv, where my husband was located!

I went there without knowing where we would live or how we would solve all the problems! But I knew we had to be near him! On my Instagram page, I posted information about our tragedy and asked for help from anyone who could assist us with housing! Kind people provided us with an apartment for free, where we lived! Every day, my children and I were at our dad's hospital! They allowed me into the ward for a few hours! I was infinitely happy to see him alive! But how painful it was to watch him suffer... It was very scary for a long time, and only after 4 months did they tell us that everything was behind us; he had broken free from the clutches of death!!

YUSUF INAN: In which country is your husband being treated?

Yulia Mizina: We are currently undergoing treatment in Finland. Thank you to the country, to the doctors who saved him, and for the kind attitude towards our whole family! Everyone helps us, and we have everything we need here! Many people want to support us and help us! We are very grateful for everything!

YUSUF INAN: How did you meet your husband?

Yulia Mizina: We lived in the city of Cherkasy in Ukraine! We loved to travel; we spent a lot of time walking together! Every weekend, we went to the forest, to the beach, to nature! We tried to spend as much time together as possible!

In general, we have been together for 11 years! We met in 2012 at a picnic with our mutual friends and never parted again! Vitaliy courted me nicely and persistently! He gave me flowers! And then we started living together in the dormitory because we were students! In our 5th year of study, we found out I was pregnant! We got married! Our first son, Ivan, is our heart and our support! He was always so wise, even when he was little! And now that we also have our Danylko, who is almost one year old! Our Ivan helps us with everything! He is now "Dad's hands"! Everything that is man's work at home is done by Ivan, and Dad explains how to do it! He also takes care of me when I am tired and want to rest!

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YUSUF INAN: Could you tell us about your family?

Yulia Mizina: In general, our family is a team! Together, we are strong! I always coached my boys to be peaceful and interact without screaming and quarrels! That there are no relatives closer than us in the world! We are so united with each other! That's why we feel so much support and family strength! I love my husband very much and trust him in any situation! And when he needed such help and support, I took on all the responsibility, no matter how difficult it was... it was necessary! I knew that our future is in our hands!

YUSUF INAN: Your husband is in the hospital, and you have two children. What did you experience?

Yulia Mizina: My strength was activated, and for half a year, I was like a steel lady! Nothing hurt me; I was active and energized for all of us! I didn't even know where I got that strength! All this time, I was breastfeeding our little one! Although I spent a lot of time with my husband in the hospital, my mother always stayed with the children and fed the baby with my stored pumped milk! Yes, after an exhausting day, I pumped and froze milk at night! During the first months, when we were still in Ukraine, my mother and our sons constantly waited for me outside the hospital, it was summer... Late in the evening, we went to the apartment. That’s how we lived then!

YUSUF INAN: How are you covering the treatment costs?

Yulia Mizina: All my acquaintances who learned about our situation asked for my card number and helped financially! Some people asked for the address of the clinic where my husband was and brought money directly there, new clothes for the children, a scooter for the eldest son, a stroller and toys for the youngest! People supported us incredibly! Perhaps that's where I get my strength! Because we were never left alone with our misfortune!

YUSUF INAN: What did the Ukrainian state do?

Yulia Mizina: Our state reviewed my husband's case and sent us to Finland for treatment! The Future for Ukraine Foundation helped our family go with Vitaliy, taking on the organization and payment of the trip!

YUSUF INAN: What help does your country of residence offer you?

Yulia Mizina: Finland accepted my husband into their clinic under the rights of a Finnish citizen and provided absolutely everything necessary! We are here as refugees. They gave us an apartment to live in! We are happy to be together! We thank everyone who is with us in our lives! Who prays with us, who is near, who is far away but with us in thought! Thank you to the doctors who treat us with respect, provide the best treatment, and joke and smile with us!

YUSUF INAN: What do you think about Turkey?

Yulia Mizina: Where we live now, there are several women with children who left Turkey due to the earthquake... It is not just a tragedy; it is a national mourning and fear. My heart aches for everyone who ended up under the rubble... because my husband was also under the rubble, still in the flames, on 17.05.2022. My heart aches so much for every mother, child, old and young! For the ruined families, lives... May the Lord send you blessings for salvation and a prosperous life! I want to wish the same for our Ukrainian people!

YUSUF INAN: What do you think about this process?

Yulia Mizina: I would also add peace and tranquility to our land! Ukraine did not want to take anyone's territory! We were happy on our land and sought to improve, reform, and build our Ukraine! Our President Volodymyr Oleksandrovych Zelenskyy was on the right path! And we are succeeding now! But millions of people, innocent people, are dying from Russian missiles... Millions of families will never see their loved ones again... all just because Putin wants another piece of territory. Why organize his utopian dreams?! It would be better to rebuild his country with the money being spent on shelling Ukraine... But no! Greed will ruin them! It's a paradox, but we have relatives in Russia who say that we are to blame for the war! That we should have calmly given them what they wanted and nothing like this would have happened. So, one must be very careful with neighbors; you never know what they might do!

YUSUF INAN: Do you have a message for world leaders?

Yulia Mizina: The entire Ukrainian people have one wish now! Peace, stop the war, Russians get out of Ukraine and out of our destiny! We will rebuild, create, and reform everything ourselves; we don't need to be liberated! Better to free yourselves from slavery and think individually! The whole world is with us! But that's not enough! The shelling of Ukraine must be stopped!

INTERVIEW CONCLUDED

YUSUF İNAN / PEACE AT HOME, PEACE IN THE WORLD (*)

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(*)  As Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of modern Turkey, once said, 'Peace at Home, Peace in the World.' This timeless principle serves as a guiding light for nations striving for harmony, coexistence, and global stability.